Where can I eat after midnight in Madrid?

Madrid's late-night dining scene is genuinely functional, not a tourist novelty. Mercado de San Miguel closes around 2 a.m. and keeps its tapas stalls running to the end, but the more reliable late option is the cluster of bars along Cava Baja in La Latina, where kitchens routinely serve until 1:30 or 2 a.m. For a proper sit-down meal past midnight, Lhardy on Carrera de San Jerónimo is not your answer — head instead to the area around Malasaña, where places like La Musa serve food until at least 1 a.m. most nights. Chocolaterías are their own category: Chocolatería San Ginés, open 24 hours near Puerta del Sol, exists specifically for the post-club crowd and serves churros con chocolate for around four euros. Kebab shops on Gran Vía operate around the clock and are genuinely decent by European standards. Spaniards eat dinner at 10 p.m., so the city's kitchen infrastructure supports all of this without strain.

Trip Friend knows Madrid cold.

Plan a real trip there, and Trip Friend can answer every follow-up — with your dates, your style, and your places baked into the conversation.

• Where do locals actually go for aperitivo in Madrid?
• Where do locals drink coffee in Madrid?
• What does a local breakfast look like in Madrid?
• Where is the street food in Madrid actually good?
• How do I get from the airport to the city in Madrid?
• Cash or card in Madrid — what do locals actually use?